 MORE ON DENIALS OF ENTRY AT PORTLAND AIRPORT
Last week we reported on the growing problem faced by Asian entrants at the Portland International Airport, where the INS denies entry at a much higher rate than other West Coast airports. The problem has grown to such proportions that Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) has asked the State Department to investigate practices at the airport.
Most of the problems at the airport seem to be related to business visitors who will be paid while in the US. A person can earn wages while in the US on a business visitor visa so long as the wages are coming from a foreign source. According to many familiar with the airport, such visitors are often improperly denied entry because they do not have a work visa. The problems are also aggravated by the fact that the State Department, which issues visas, operates using different regulations than the INS, which controls entry to the US.
[Editor's note - After last week's story, we heard from one high profile employer that is considering bypassing Portland and instead sending Asian employees through Seattle, something that Oregon officials have feared would result as a result of INS activity at the Portland airport]
| 
